Getting involved... (1 Viewer)

[heytherewhatsup]

Hey guys
I am really frustrated recently as I am so desperate for some committee positions in societies but I got rejected (do they actually want first year students? cuz most of the candidates in my group are 2nd/3rd year students)
I then begin to worry about my CV - there's nothing 'big' that I can do this year, maybe I will join some volunteering events but they don't sound as good as being part of a committee
I also worry about my internship opportunities - without a good CV how can i get in as a first year?
I know I am over-reacted cuz I really care abt my future n i wanna get involved with uni
However it seems like there isn't much that I can participate in (I have been to many socialising events but u cant put that in ur CV)
Guys please help me out - is there any other things i can get involved? like uni students programmes or societies outside UNSW or being execs in a charity?
THANKS HEAPS

 

[Shadowdude]

Hey guys
I am really frustrated recently as I am so desperate for some committee positions in societies but I got rejected (do they actually want first year students? cuz most of the candidates in my group are 2nd/3rd year students)
I then begin to worry about my CV - there's nothing 'big' that I can do this year, maybe I will join some volunteering events but they don't sound as good as being part of a committee
I also worry about my internship opportunities - without a good CV how can i get in as a first year?
I know I am over-reacted cuz I really care abt my future n i wanna get involved with uni
However it seems like there isn't much that I can participate in (I have been to many socialising events but u cant put that in ur CV)
Guys please help me out - is there any other things i can get involved? like uni students programmes or societies outside UNSW or being execs in a charity?
THANKS HEAPS

What societies are these?


You're a first year, you're not really supposed to be on execs because you're not even sure how the things work. You want to get involved? Do it at an entry level way. Help out, apply to be on the Events team or something, and then work your way up from there.

 

[heytherewhatsup]

What societies are these?


You're a first year, you're not really supposed to be on execs because you're not even sure how the things work. You want to get involved? Do it at an entry level way. Help out, apply to be on the Events team or something, and then work your way up from there.

i applied for bsoc and UNIT
when i was in high school i found it easy to get into the committees but now these failures are killing me
what saddens me more is that my fd who does commerce got in shes so quiet and anti-social n has no experience at all i reli dont know why i didnt get in LOL

yea i know i just wanna be a subcom but my application wasnt successful. do i apply for subcom again next yr? but what can i do this yr to build up my CV? as most subcom applications are closed atm....

 

[Trans4M]

i applied for bsoc and UNIT
when i was in high school i found it easy to get into the committees but now these failures are killing me
what saddens me more is that my fd who does commerce got in shes so quiet and anti-social n has no experience at all i reli dont know why i didnt get in LOL

yea i know i just wanna be a subcom but my application wasnt successful. do i apply for subcom again next yr? but what can i do this yr to build up my CV? as most subcom applications are closed atm....

The purpose of subcommittees is for you to get involve, gain some experience and get to know more about the society. They do not really look for experience. They will teach and train you. They already have experienced people in the position of Directors, Vice Presidents etc. Most of the time they look for things like communication skills and cultural fit. Maybe the interviewers somehow thought she fitted better with the society's values?

It also doesn't matter what degree you do. You are both doing business related degrees and applying for business related societies. The fact that you do law has no relevance to your application for subcommittee.

On a side note, yes you can apply again next year. You have plenty of time to improve your CV before you apply for internships so don't stress. As you are doing Commerce/Law, you are unlikely to be offered an internship until at least 3rd year.

 

[heytherewhatsup]

The purpose of subcommittees is for you to get involve, gain some experience and get to know more about the society. They do not really look for experience. They will teach and train you. They already have experienced people in the position of Directors, Vice Presidents etc. Most of the time they look for things like communication skills and cultural fit. Maybe the interviewers somehow thought she fitted better with the society's values?

It also doesn't matter what degree you do. You are both doing business related degrees and applying for business related societies. The fact that you do law has no relevance to your application for subcommittee.

On a side note, yes you can apply again next year. You have plenty of time to improve your CV before you apply for internships so don't stress. As you are doing Commerce/Law, you are unlikely to be offered an internship until at least 3rd year.

I have applied for internships for the coming summer holiday and I'll be having my interviews in the winter break (they are accounting firms/banks in China) I am really scared if they ask me what I have done in my first semester as I feel like I am so not involved

Is it enough if I just keep volunteering this year?

I am kinda a perfectionist but I have been facing a lot of failures in my first month of uni (not getting into the subcom, getting low marks in assignments esp for law, etc) I am really stressing out idk how to cope with all these

 

[Absolutezero]

You know what's better than joining projects? Starting projects.

 

[heytherewhatsup]

You know what's better than joining projects? Starting projects.

you mean actually start one? omg im confused...

 

[Traveller0901]

I have applied for internships for the coming summer holiday and I'll be having my interviews in the winter break (they are accounting firms/banks in China) I am really scared if they ask me what I have done in my first semester as I feel like I am so not involved

Is this for austere int?

 

[Trans4M]

I have applied for internships for the coming summer holiday and I'll be having my interviews in the winter break (they are accounting firms/banks in China) I am really scared if they ask me what I have done in my first semester as I feel like I am so not involved

Is it enough if I just keep volunteering this year?

I am kinda a perfectionist but I have been facing a lot of failures in my first month of uni (not getting into the subcom, getting low marks in assignments esp for law, etc) I am really stressing out idk how to cope with all these

Good luck with that.

Yes getting involved with the societies through volunteering makes your name known and can boost your chance of getting subcom next year.

Facing failures early in your degree is quite common actually. You just got to remember the marking scheme at uni is different to high school. You are graded into bands rather than actual marks.

The court report does not reflect how you will perform for the rest of your degree. I know friends who did well in the court report (8/10) but end up getting only passes in law later in their degree. Some people who have performed well continue to do well. I didn't do so great myself. I think I got like 6/10 but I am still achieving some distinctions and high credits for my law courses.

 

[Shadowdude]

i applied for bsoc and UNIT
when i was in high school i found it easy to get into the committees but now these failures are killing me
what saddens me more is that my fd who does commerce got in shes so quiet and anti-social n has no experience at all i reli dont know why i didnt get in LOL

yea i know i just wanna be a subcom but my application wasnt successful. do i apply for subcom again next yr? but what can i do this yr to build up my CV? as most subcom applications are closed atm....

BSoc and UNIT...

yeah so basically the commerce-y societies


Good luck with that. You should go for smaller societies that aren't so... well, "set in their ways" so to speak? Where it's more chill, and fun - not super srs.

 

[D94]

i applied for bsoc and UNIT
when i was in high school i found it easy to get into the committees but now these failures are killing me
what saddens me more is that my fd who does commerce got in shes so quiet and anti-social n has no experience at all i reli dont know why i didnt get in LOL

yea i know i just wanna be a subcom but my application wasnt successful. do i apply for subcom again next yr? but what can i do this yr to build up my CV? as most subcom applications are closed atm....

So like...you want to be an exec on a large society but you barely have any experience with the society, you are as new as those who you intend to be recruiting or liaising with, and you are expected to give advice on your degree or sponsor companies or whatever it is about - but you have been part of the society for around 1 month, so I would not be convinced joining such a society if you can't speak for the society with anecdotes.

You say your friend is anti-social and quiet - I'm not sure if your application was written, but say it is, written communication is important as well, and your friend seems to have good written communication skills. Maybe she won't get passed the next round, but she got passed the first so she's got her foot in already. That's the first thing you need to work on, not how flashy you want your CV to look.

You don't need to be an exec to put these things on your CV. Being part of relevant societies may show interest and aptitude in those areas. If we take Engineering as an example, being a member of say Redback Racing or Sunswift is relevant and you contribute to the project - you can put that on your CV. So you could start something business related, whether it be a society or something you are interested in, and that you can talk about on applications. It could be something online or in-house or open to all uni students. You can start a society if you want to and have others who are interested.

And you don't need to do things for the sake of putting things on your CV - join a sport or a random club, meet people etc. You probably won't have a good time, and that is more important than stressing yourself out.

 

[obliviousninja]

Dame. I had a 50/50 chance to get onto bsoc subcom...but no. I think i stuffed up another interview. oh well good learning experience.

 

[Kittikhun]

You can join the SES or the NSWRFS, if a brigade falls near where you live, and make an honest commitment to whichever of these two organisations you choose to join. Regardless of which organisation you choose, you'll learn new skills and meet great people who wish to make a sincere good contribution back to the community. Training for these organisations are usually done fortnightly and last 2-3 hours. I don't know about the SES, but for the NSWRFS, if you choose to become a firefighter, duties are on-call (responding to fire really) and training is usually once very month, and meetings once every month too, depending on your brigade. If you choose to join one of the NSWRFS communications brigade in your local area, training is fortnightly, and duties can be done in half-day (4 hours) or full day (8 hours) shifts. And, of course, when you get deployed to fight a bushfire outside of your area, you can stay up there for some days.

The SES and NSWRFS are not very selective in accepting applicants. If you have the right attitude to learn and give back to the community, do not suffer from any severe medical impairments, and are a genuinely nice person, you should be accepted. I'd recommended the NSWRFS over the SES if you had the choice to pick between the two. In the NSWRFS, you'll learn more skills, and you sometimes support the SES anyway during floods and storms and all if requested by the SES. You'll also probably see more action in the NSWRFS than in the SES, especially during the fire season. In the NSWRFS, you also support and are subordinate to Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) on structural fires (house fires) if FRNSW requests it. To add, FRNSW also support and are subordinate to the NSWRFS in regards to grass and bush fires.

Here is website for the SES-

http://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/

Here is the website for the NSWRFS-

http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_content.cfm?cat_id=1004

Here is a link to all NSWRFS brigades to find out if you live near a NSWRFS brigade-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_South_Wales_Rural_Fire_Service_brigades

 

[obliviousninja]

im just gonna get a job at maccas